Brazil unveils plans to join Belt and Road Initiative

Lula made the announcement at an event to announce an investment by the Brazilian Development Bank to renovate the highway between Rio de Janeiro and Santos, a city 85 kilometers from Sao Paulo that is home to the country's main port.

Describing the link between Chinese interests and Brazilian infrastructure, Lula expressed openness to joining the initiative, as long as it brings results.

“Since China wants to discuss this Silk Road (the old name of the initiative), we will have to prepare a proposal to assess ‘What will we gain? What will Brazil benefit from if we participate in this initiative?’” he said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Photo: Reuters

Lula's comments mark the first time the Brazilian government has publicly discussed the possibility of joining the program, although China has sent invitations in the past.

Despite historically being one of the world's biggest recipients of mainland Chinese investment, Brazil has been reluctant to join China-centric trade and infrastructure networks.

In June, the leader of Brazil's ruling party in Congress, Jose Guimaraes, hinted on social media X that Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was close to "finalizing" his accession to the initiative during a visit to Beijing. However, Alckmin later denied the reports, saying the topic would only be "on the agenda for discussion."

Following these remarks, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that China "really wants" Brazil to join its trade and infrastructure strategy but has no intention of "setting a deadline."

This year, Brazil and China celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.

On July 18, Mr. Lula said he would be a guest at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, taking place in Peru in November.

China is an APEC member and President Xi Jinping is also expected to attend the meeting, during which the Chancay deep-water port is expected to be inaugurated. Funded by Belt and Road funds, the port is intended to expand China's trade volume with South America.

Ngoc Anh (according to SCMP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/brazil-tiet-lo-ke-hoach-tham-gia-sang-kien-vah-dai-va-con-duong-post304245.html